


Cowls and Conflicts

by JustAndrea



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)
Genre: Arguing, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, if you don't know what Kragle is just google it, mentions of bombs, one small reference to the Lego Movie, protective bat-dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-04-25
Packaged: 2018-10-23 21:35:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10727721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAndrea/pseuds/JustAndrea
Summary: Everyone argues, no matter how strong the relationship. Even crime fighting partners - and especially fathers and sons.





	Cowls and Conflicts

**Author's Note:**

> Even though I still can’t see the Lego!Verse version of their relationship getting quite as fractured as their canon one occasionally did, I do feel like Lego!Bruce and Dick would argue occasionally. So, here’s my take on their first big fight. Enjoy!

Batman was used to danger. Both of them were, in fact, despite his son only having a little over a year of crime-fighting experience under his utility belt. After all, Gotham was a pretty dangerous city. But even so, there were still occasionally schemes that would make night-stalking vigilante become a bit more cautious - times that would make his normally steady bat-heart start to race just a little. And tonight had definitely one of those times…

The drive back to Wayne Manor was long and practically silent, save for the roar of the Bat-Mobile’s engine and the occasional beep from ‘Puter. Batman kept his eyes straight ahead on the road while Dick could only look out the passenger side window, occasionally scowling or giving a small sniffle, but saying nothing. 

And with no conversation to be had or energetic rock or pop music to listen to, memories of earlier that night were easily flooding back into their minds…

A new gang had been rising through the ranks pretty quickly, and word on the street was that they had gotten their hands on several bombs that they had been hording for the last month or so. But the Dynamic Duo weren’t too worried.

After a bit of interrogation, Batman learned from some grunt that they were finally going to use all of these bombs soon, both as distractions and as a means to break into various banks and museums. So, of course, it was up to the Dark Knight and his Boy Wonder to stop them before any of these bombs were activated. Dangerous, sure, but it didn’t seem like anything too unusual. A totally standard, save-the-day mission. No prob! 

…Unfortunately, this was a bit of an underestimation, and it was only after the two heroes arrived at the gang’s secret hideout did Batman notice a key detail that their informant had forgotten to give them. A detail that totally changed the nature of this mission…

While half of the gang’s collection were normal bombs, the others weren’t. They were smaller, with a bit of dry, clear residue on the sides of them. Near the cap of the bomb, there was a simple label with the letter ‘K’ on it. 

As soon as he had spotted it, Batman narrowed his eyes at the bomb, clenching his fists slightly. Kragle… A substance that was arguably more dangerous than TNT, or even Joker’s laughing gas or Scarecrow’s fear toxin - especially if you ended up getting stuck right near a growing fire or ticking bomb…

He had stared at the K-Bombs for a bit, and then glanced over at his son. Robin had been scowling as well, though it was out of determination rather than anger, just as it always was. He was more than ready to help his padre take these guys out! Batman’s gaze softened a bit, though his mind never faltered. A decision had already been made. 

_“Stay up here and keep watch.” “Huh? Wait, so, should I watch for a signal or-?” “No. Just, stay up here, alright? I’m taking care of this one on my own.” “What?! But, but Padre, you-!” “It’ll be fine, trust me. Now stay.” “But Batman-!” “No buts!”_

Neither of them had even snickered at that last bit, and before Robin could attempt to make any more arguments, Batman hopped down from the roof top they were perched on. He easily landed on the ground, blending into the shadows. Sneaking up on these guys would be a piece of cake, as would disabling the bombs. 

But, as it had already been proven once that night, things didn’t always go as planned…

“Good evening, Sirs,” Alfred greeted as soon as the Bat-Mobile was parked, giving a small bow as he did so, “I trust that, based on the news reports, everything went-”

The doors of the car opened, and as the two hopped out, they remained silent as they started along the Batcave’s moving path, with neither of them bothering to change out of their costumes. Speaking of which, their capes looked a bit stiff, but that seemed to be the only thing wrong with them. Or at least, the only thing that was wrong physically. 

“…well.” Alfred furrowed his brow. “Um, is everything alright?” he asked as he followed his masters into the elevator.

Batman’s scowl deepened. “Oh yeah, sure,” he mumbled, pressing the ‘up’ button, “Everything’s just _fine!_ You know, aside from the fact that I was completely ignored tonight.”

“But I said I was sorry!” Dick told him, “I, I just thought-”

“I had already told you that I would be fine!” Batman told him as he turned to face the boy, “And you were supposed to stay away from the bombs and just keep watch! What part of ‘stay put’ did you not understand?”

Dick pouted. “But I never just ‘stay put’. Not usually… and I  _did_ keep watch! That’s why I left the rooftop! I saw one of the guys trying to grab another weapon and-”

“And I could have taken care of it!” Batman retorted, taking a step forward. Dick felt himself shrink slightly. Even if he now knew that his adoptive father wasn’t quite as dark and scary as he wanted other people to believe, he was still pretty intimidating. 

But even so, Dick didn’t step back. “Padre, we’re supposed to help each other! We’re supposed to be a _team!_ And a family!” he yelled as his pout quickly started to turn into a scowl.

“Yeah, well, some missions are better off being solo ones!” Batman shouted, “Especially when your teammates don’t listen!”

“But I DO listen!” Dick shot back.

“Well next time, listen _better._ ” And with that, the Dark Knight looked away, effectively ending the ‘conversation’ as the small elevator continued to rise.

Alfred’s frown deepened as he stood between the duo, holding back a sigh. “Oh my…” Well, he supposed he should have suspected something like this eventually. 

Catching his butler’s reaction to all of this, Batman just gave a small huff. “Hey, he started all of this.”

Dick scowled again. “Hey, _you_ started it!”

“ _You’re_ the one who didn’t listen and just jumped into the fight, even though I TOLD you to stay put!”

“But I ALWAYS fight bad guys with you! So I still don’t understand why-!” 

“Because Batman said so, okay?! _That’s_ why!”

“Now, both of you, hold on just a moment-” Alfred started to say, hoping to maybe get at least one of them to actually explain what had happened. Maybe once he knew the context of the situation, he could help the two of them sort it out. However, before the butler could say anything more, a small ding interrupted him. The elevator slowed, and once the doors opened, Batman immediately walked out of it.

“…So what, next time I try to help, are you going to just send me off in the Scuttler again?” Dick mumbled, crossing his arms. 

Alfred blinked, looking at Dick in shock while Batman immediately froze. “…What was that, kid?” he asked, glaring at the boy over his shoulder.

“Nothing!” Dick snapped, glaring right back at him as he stepped out of the elevator.

“Now, Master Dick-” “Don’t talk back to me like that!” “Ugh…” This time, Alfred didn’t even bother trying to stop himself from sighing. By this point, it was pretty obvious that neither of the heroes were too interested in listening to him. 

“Well why not?!” Dick retorted, squeezing his fists a bit, “You’re already mad at me for doing what I thought was right and for just trying to be Robin! I can’t really think of much worse than that!”

Batman narrowed his eyes. “Oh really? How about ‘you’re grounded’? Because guess what, you are!” 

“ _What?!”_ Dick gaped at him, “But, but that’s not even fair!”

“I don’t care!” Batman argued as he raised his arms, “Besides, it seems pretty fair to me!”

“…” Stunned and trying to ignore how watery his eyes were getting, Dick gave the man once last glare before turning away and heading up the staircase. And to think, a year or so ago, he wouldn’t have minded being ‘parented’. But _this?_ This was so unfair! “…Hope you have fun fighting crime all alone!” he shouted down at the man once he reached the top of the stairs.

“Better than working with a sidekick who makes stupid and risky decisions even though I tell him not to!” his father shot back.

“Better than working with a hero who’s a big jerk!” 

“HEY! You-! You-! _Go to your room!_ ”

“I’M ALREADY GOING TO MY ROOM!”

“Well, GOOD!” 

“YEAH! GOOD!” With that, Dick ran into his bedroom, slamming the door as hard as he could behind him. 

Gritting his teeth in frustration, Batman turned on his heel and headed back towards the secret elevator, wanting nothing more than to be alone in his Batcave. …However, he did make sure to open and slam a nearby door on the way, just because elevator doors couldn’t exactly be slammed. 

“Sir,” Alfred spoke up in an attempt to stop him, though he knew it wouldn’t amount to much. And as the elevator traveled back down into the caverns below the manor, Alfred decided to simply continue on with his night and give the two heroes a bit of space. “Best to just wait until they’ve cooled off… Which hopefully won’t take too long, for both their sakes…” 

()()()()()()()()()()

The cave was silent, save for the occasional squeak from a bat or two on the ceiling. Normally in times like this, Batman would be blaring some of what he would call his ‘brooding music’ - either of his own creation or of songs he found online - but as frustrated as he was, he just wasn’t in the mood. 

He tried doing more research on the new gang, just to make sure there weren’t any other hideouts. However, that only kept his attention for a few minutes. Researching other cases didn’t help much either, so finally the masked vigilante just resigned to sitting in his chair and watching the screensaver on ‘Puter’s screen loop over and over. 

And as the minutes passed, Batman’s scowl seemed to soften just a bit. Ironically, his heart started to feel a bit heavier at the same time. “Ugh…” He popped his cowl off, tossing it aside before rubbing his eyes and giving another small groan.

As much as he hated talking about feelings, Bruce couldn’t deny that he did feel bad about the things he said to Dick and how he had yelled at him. But at the same time…

_“Come on! Don’t just stand there letting him beat you up! Get ‘im!” Three more thugs rushed towards him, but Batman simply leapt out of the way, doing a perfect backflip while the ruffians ran into each other and knocked themselves out.  
_

_Unfortunately, the Dark Knight didn’t have too much time to rest. He knew that there were probably a few more bad guys around here, and he’d have to keep on his toes if he wanted to-_

_***POW!***  “OW!” _

_Hearing a now-limp body fall to the ground, Batman turned around and saw both one of the gang members (the one who was now on the ground, his metal pipe weapon now limp in his hand) and Robin (who was still in a sort of action pose). The Boy Wonder took a moment to smile at his father, though it quickly disappeared when the smile wasn’t returned._

_“I thought I told you to stay on the roof!” “But, h-he was going to try and sneak up on you, and-” “I could have handled it. Now get back up there!” “But Padre-!” “Mi hijo, I mean it! **Go!** ” “But-”  
_

_“You know, I’m not usually one to get in the middle of these kinds’a family arguments,” a voice started to say, quickly getting the Dynamic Duo’s attention. Turning back towards the deadly supply, they could see the gang’s leader - along with a few of his smirking cronies standing behind him - with his hand on an already beeping K-Bomb. “However, I should really get going and, well, I have a feeling that **these** babies are gonna be way more of a distraction than whatever you two are yellin’ about.”  
_

_With that, the guy tossed the K-Bomb towards the heroes, with him and his buddies making a run for it as soon as it left his hand. Immediately, Batman pushed Robin forward and to the ground before taking cover himself. No sooner had he hit the ground did the bomb go off, with a bit of Kragle splashing onto their backs. Honestly, that was better than hitting their feet or arms._

_“B-Batdad?” he heard Robin say, “Are you-”  
_

_“I’m fine,” Batman replied as he started to sit up, “I’m-” He stopped. Through the slight smoke and the sound of Kragle drying, he could hear more beeping - beeping that was getting faster by the second. “We need to go, kid! NOW!”  
_

_“Right!” Going as fast as they could, the heroes got out their grappling hooks and took aim. In a matter of seconds, they heard more explosions. The ends of their capes got hit with more Kragle, and they could start to feel heat below their feet while more smoke filled the air._

_But, with enough speed and luck, both Batman and Robin managed to make it safely back onto the rooftop, while all the other bombs - both standard and K-Bomb alike - continued going off._ _Thankfully, the only building close enough to sustain real damage from it all was the gang’s hideout - and while that did mean destroyed evidence, at least there weren’t any innocent people hurt._

_Though speaking of people almost getting hurt… As his sidekick/son gave a small sigh of relief, Batman looked over at him. “Heh, kind of a close call, huh?” Robin said as he again attempted a small smile._

_But Batman just scowled. “You were supposed to stay up here,” he repeated._

_Robin winced slightly. “…Sorry… I-”_

_Before anything else could be said, the Bat-Computer spoke up from Batman’s cowl. **“According to traffic cameras, they’re headed towards the freeway.”** An attempt to escape no doubt, though even with their late start it would be fairly easy enough to catch them in the Bat-Mobile. So, with no other choice, the two of them started heading back towards their car without another word._

Bruce squeezed his fists a bit, his scowl quickly returning. Catching up to the gang and taking them down once and for all had been just as successful as he had assumed it would be, but even a saved-night victory wasn’t enough to make him forget about what had happened. …What had nearly happened, and what had happened afterwards.

“…Still angry with Master Dick, it would seem?”

Glancing over the top of his chair, Bruce looked back at Alfred. “Well, yeah! Wouldn’t you be? He put himself in danger even though I told him-!”

“Sir, I would agree that it was perhaps a bit foolish to not wait for a cue and just go into battle without a proper plan,” Alfred started to say as he sat down a tray of tea, “However, can you really blame him?”

Bruce stared at the older gentleman, narrowing his eyes a bit. “And just why shouldn’t I blame him for disobeying an order.”

“Because it’s like he said, Master Bruce,” Alfred began, his own gaze completely unflinching, “Master Dick does these sorts of things all the time.”

Bruce started to reply, but for a moment or two, nothing came out of his mouth. “…Y-Yeah, well, this time was different, Alfred! They had Kragle, along with a bunch of other bombs! He could have gotten stuck! Or blown up! Or stuck AND blown up!”

The old butler gave a small hum. “That does sound extremely dangerous, and fatal… Almost about as fatal and dangerous as when you two faced off against Mr. Freeze’s latest freezing ray last week. And the Joker’s latest super-deadly prank-weapons before that. And the Penguin’s fierce killer fighting-birds last month. And-”

“Okay okay, I get it!” Bruce snapped - though again, Alfred didn’t flinch at his tone. “I get it…” he repeated, giving a sigh, “It’s like he said, he’s pretty much used to this kind of danger… Heck, we both are. It’s… It’s why we make such a good team usually. …But…” 

But he still couldn’t help but worry at times… Worry about losing him, and wonder if pushing the boy away was the kinder option, even if he knew deep down in his heart that it wasn’t.

Eyes softening a bit, Alfred stepped forward and put a gentle hand on his master’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, Master Bruce, a good parent is protective of their child. _But_ , a good parent also knows when to trust their child.”

“Hmph, yeah well… I don’t think I’ve been very good at much tonight,” Bruce mumbled, glancing away, “Let alone good at being a dad.”

“There’s still time to improve on it, Sir. And, according to my own experiences, there are very few things in this world that can’t be solved with a bit of talking and an apology.”

“…” Giving a small nod, Bruce stood up and walked back towards the elevator - and for once, Alfred didn’t mind his master letting his tea get cold.

()()()()()()()()()

 _*knock knock knock*_  “…Hey kid,” Bruce said quietly as he opened the door. Dick, who had been laying on his stomach on his bed and was now in his pajamas, silently glanced up at him. “So, uh… Can I come in?”

“…Yeah,” Dick nodded after a moment. 

Feeling a bit more relaxed now, Bruce came inside and sat down on the bed. “So, look, kid… Dick, I… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for yelling. It’s just… I wanted-”

“I know.” Bruce stopped, and turned to look at his son. Dick sat up, but kept his gaze to the floor. “I, I know I said that I didn’t know why before but, I do. You were trying to protect me and keep me safe. …But, at the same time, I also kinda _don’t_ know why.”

As his frown deepened, the Boy Wonder finally looked up, meeting his father’s eyes. “We make a good team, a-and I’ve been doing really well at stopping bad guys and helping you save the day. So… why don’t you trust me?” 

As Dick’s eyes started to water once more, Bruce’s own eyes softened. “Oh, Dick… I _do_ trust you. Heck, you’re one of the few people I do trust! It’s other people or… or myself, that I have a problem trusting… One wrong move or surprise or mistake and-” He shut his eyes for a moment. “…You’re a good hero, Dick. A great one, even. But you’re still a kid… You’re still _my_ kid.”

“…” Despite it all, Dick couldn’t help but smile just a little at the word ‘my’. “Yeah, I know… But, you aren’t the only one who worries about losing people, Bruce.” He hugged himself. “I already lost two parents… I didn’t want to risk losing another one tonight, just because I was sitting on the sidelines…”

Of course. Bruce gave a sort of sad smile. “Heh… We really are two of a kind, huh…?” Dick just nodded as he sort of leaned into his adopted father’s side, and Bruce didn’t even hesitate to put a comforting arm around him. 

“Trust me, I can understand wanting to help - needing to make sure the people you love are safe - but… Like I said, you’re still a kid. Sure, you’re a kid I can trust to fight by my side and handle most of what this city has to throw at us, but… When it comes to the bigger and riskier stuff, can you please promise me that you’ll stay clear of it and listen when I tell you to stay away from it, at least for now?”

Dick thought for a few moments before nodding again. “Okay… But, can you promise me something then?” he asked as he sat up, “You have to promise me that, when you really  _really_ need the help, you’ll let me help you. Even when it’s dangerous. Okay?”

If he was being completely honest, there was a pretty big part of Bruce who didn’t want to make that deal. And yet, he knew he’d be a huge hypocrite if he denied it.

Because, after all… It was the same sort of promise that he would ask for. 

“Yeah, okay,” Bruce nodded.

However, Dick still looked just a bit skeptical (not that he could really blame him for it). “Hmm… Could we shake on it?” he asked, holding out his hand. 

Smiling just a little, the unmasked Dark Knight almost immediately took it. “I promise,” he said firmly.

And at that point, Dick finally gave his usual, happy smile in return. “Then I promise too!”

“Heh, good to hear, buddy.” 

“Yeah. …So,” Dick started to say as he winced slightly, “Am I still grounded?”

“Hmm… Actually, I think you’ve been grounded long enough. I mean, you’ve already learned your lesson-” Technically they both had- “so, yeah, two or three hours is long enough, right?” Though, after a moment, Bruce started to smirk. “Although… are you sure you want to keep working with a jerk like me?”

Looking a bit sheepish, Dick giggled. “Heh, yeah, I’m sure, Padre. You’re not a jerk.”

“Oh? You sure about that?” In one swift motion, Bruce pulled Dick close and started to give him a noogie, causing the boy to shriek with laughter. “You sure about that kid?”

“Hehe, w-well, _mostly_ sure!” Dick answered in-between his laughs while Bruce just chuckled, “Heh, c-come on, Batdad, cut it out! Hehe!”

As the heroic father and son duo continued to lightly chuckle, the noogie quickly turning into a hug, a pair of proud (and relieved) eyes watched from the cracked door. 

“Well, glad to see that all taken care of,” Alfred said quietly as he watched for just a moment longer before heading back downstairs.

While they had discussed the problem and solved it, the old butler knew that this wouldn’t be the last father-son fight to take place in the manor - especially since Dick was about to enter his teen years, and that combined with Batman’s stubbornness was sure to cause some tension. It was just a fact of life. A bitter one, but a fact nonetheless.

However, Alfred wasn’t too worried. He knew that no matter how much they may argue or disagree, they would still care about each other. 

And they would always be father and son. 

**THE END**

**Author's Note:**

> I actually struggled with this piece a bit, since I wanted the arguing to be both genuine and in-character. But, I hope it turned out well, and I hope you all enjoyed it! ^v^


End file.
